In his nine no-decisions, Greinke had a 2.35 ERA -- still good enough to top the American League. And it was a better ERA than every starting pitcher in MLB except for Chris Carpenter (2.24). Greinke's ERA in his losses was still better than the AL average (4.75).

Rany Jazayerli says that Greinke also pitched in front of the team with the worst defensive efficiency. At the end of August, he wrote:

It's not hyperbole to suggest that, with an even average defense behind him, Greinke's ERA could be in the 1's right now.

Greinke began the season by not allowing an earned run in his first 29.2 innings. After 10 starts, his ERA was only 0.84. It crept above 1.00 for the first time on May 31. That reminded me of Pedro in 2000, when after 12 starts, his ERA was 0.99, though it had been over 1.00 before that. (Jazayerli wrote about Zach/Pedro back in May.)

John Dewan's Total Runs metric has Grienke as the American League MVP. Drive Line Mechanics seems to agree.

Peter Abraham, who recently moved from The Journal News outside of New York to the Globe, going from being a beat writer for the Yankees to a beat writer for the Red Sox, wonders if Fruitbat threw a spitball in Game 3. That's the video. You be the judge.